The Kenneally survivors
Colin Power, Jason Clancy, Kevin Keating and Barry Murphy, pictured in 2016
(Note: This is an excerpt from a Special Report published this week by the Waterford News & Star. You can read the full story here)
Schools, sports clubs, senior clergy members, experienced politicians, parents, gardaí. They all knew.
He was seen lurking with groups of boys in parks as they played soccer. He was seen taking them for spins in his car. He was seen prowling in changing rooms and showers after basketball games.
So then why was it that when a 14-year-old boy bravely walked all by himself into Waterford Garda Station in 1985 to tell gardaí that he had been abused by well-known paedophile Bill Kenneally, his complaint wasn’t taken seriously.
Why was it that when Bill Kenneally made admissions to two senior garda members in 1987, he was let walk and continue to abuse children for years?
Last week, after years of waiting, a landmark report carried out by The South East Commission of Investigation was finally published.
This week, Bill Kenneally is dead.
Bill Kenneally was a predatory sexual abuser operating in Waterford City and its environs. He had an intense sexual attraction to pubescent boys in early adolescence.
For decades, he used his position in local sports; soccer, tennis and basketball, to lure in countless victims. One victim told us he understands that over one hundred boys may have been abused by Kenneally.
In 2016, Kenneally was sentenced to 14 years and two months’ imprisonment for the indecent assault of 10 boys.
In 2023, he received an additional four years and six months for the indecent assault of five more boys, bringing his total sentence of 18 years and 8 months.
The offences to which he pleaded guilty, ranged from 1979 to 1990, however, his offending goes as far back as 1970.
Kenneally was not brought to justice prior to a formal complaint by one of his victim’s, Jason Clancy in December 2012.
Mr Clancy showed remarkable courage in being the first victim to waive anonymity. Over the next number of years, more victims would come forward to share their story with Gardaí in the pursuit of justice being served.
The four men we met in the offices of the Waterford News & Star last week displayed these qualities in full.
They told us, that whether it be living with the trauma of their abuse, or going through the arduous journey of pursuing justice, they could not have done it without each other.
Kevin Keating said: “I wouldn’t have got through this Commission on my own, none of us would.
“We always knew we could phone someone or talk to each other.
“There were some days I would get up and felt I couldn’t face it, but I knew if I rang one of the lads, they would be there.
“For so many years before this went public, I was living a lie, but I’m much happier now in my life. Much more confident, much more capable.”
From 2012 onwards, victims began to waive their anonymity, a necessary burden to ensure Kenneally was imprisoned and the Commission would investigate state failures around the investigation.
However, there are so many others who remain anonymous, who must also be commended for their bravery, strength and endurance in living with the abuse.
Mr. Power said: “This commission is for all the victims, and I hope it brings them comfort. It’s an achievement for every victim, because we all went through this abuse.”
Jason Clancy said:
“We have been dealing with this for years, and now all we want is the normal life. We just want the normal everyday problems that everyone else has.
“We have all had the Kenneally cloud in our homes, impacting our lives and our families’ lives, and hopefully now it will be gone.”
The procurement of the Commission’s report has been a long and arduous journey for the victims.
They told the Waterford News & Star last week that they feel vindicated at its findings, but that the release of the report was handled poorly.
The victims were sent the finalised report less than 24 hours before it was released to the public.
They expressed regret that they had very limited time to inform family and friends, travel to Dublin to host a press conference, and grapple with the emotional weight of reading the massive 417-page document.
They felt aggrieved that they had to make considerable efforts in the past week, and yet when Taoiseach Micheal Martin appeared in the Dáil last Wednesday to discuss the report, he himself said that he had not fully read through it.
The report recommends that the Law Reform Commission should urgently consider the absence of a criminal offence of “misconduct in public office” in this country.
The victims say the outcome they hope for now is that people in positions of authority will never be allowed to be cover up abuse against children ever again.
Jason Clancy said: “The report said there was no state collusion, but there was localised state collusion, that’s very evident.”
“There will always be Bill Kenneallys out there, but if people fail to stop them, they should be open to prosecution. It’s about targeting the people in power so that they can no longer enable or cover up. That’s the best outcome we can get.”
A State Apology will happen.
The survivors say that the apology will be meaningful, however, more importantly is that the findings of the report are enacted into real change.
More on this story: 'Waterford owes Kenneally survivors a debt of gratitude for their tireless pursuit of justice'
